Blue Trails

Blue Trails

American Rivers created the Blue Trails Guide, an expansive online guide that provides step-by-step instructions for developing a thriving blue trail with a focus on conservation. It includes cutting edge case studies on planning, building, and managing for conservation.

Through the relicensing of the Oroville Dam, American Rivers is helping to restore water flows and temperature, floodplain habitat, habitat for salmon and steelhead, and improve recreational opportunities along the Feather River.

With the help of American Rivers, Hitchcock Creek in Rockingham, North Carolina is becoming a more valuable community asset, and will serve as an attraction for fishing, boating, and other recreation. Until recently, a dam degraded the Hitchcock Creek, blocked migrating fish from spawning and prevented the community from safely enjoying their river through boating and fishing.

The Verde River is an important tributary to the Colorado River and a unique resource in Arizona. One of the few perennially flowing rivers in the Southwest, the Verde sustains lush riverside forest, a large and diverse wildlife population, and provides critical drinking water to many Central Arizona communities. Aboriginal cultures have been present in the area for thousands of years. Cliff dwellings can still be seen in the rocks above the river.

The Waccamaw River Blue Trail will not only improve recreational opportunities, it will also help to educate citizens, local governments, and elected officials about the importance of the river as a community asset, increase community involvement in the river, and support conservation. This project will also serve as a model for how to work with city and county councils to encourage land protection and riparian buffers through educational and incentive programs. the river as a community asset, increase community involvement in the river, and support conservation.